Hypodermic syringe with identification cardholder



July 9, 1968 A. R. sPAr-:TH

HYPODERMIC SYRINGE WITH IDENTIFICATION CARDHOLDER med sept. 7, 1965 A T TOHNE Y United States Patent O 3,391,694 HYPGDERMIC SYRINGE WITH IDENTIFICATION CARDHOLDER Alfred R. Spaeth, Johnson City, Tenn., assignor to Pharmaseal Laboratories, Glendale, Calif., a corporation of California Filed Sept. 7, 1965, Ser. No. 485,450 4 Claims. (Cl. 12S- 218) ABSTRACT UF THE DISCLOSURE A hypodermic syringe with a V-shaped notch in its plunger handle and with a thin fiat control card wedged into this notch to insure the proper medicament is administered to the proper patient. The notch is slanted for easier reading of the control card and can have walls with a series of steps to receive control cards of different thicknesses.

This invention relates to a hypodermic syringe with an integral control cardholder.

Control cards are used to indicate the particular medicament within a hypodermic syringe and which patient is to receive an injection of this medica-ment. In many hospitals today the syringes are filled in a central nurses station, pharmacy, or drug room and then carried on a tray to the patient where a nurse or physician gives the injection.

It is important that the control card bearing the names of the medicament and the patient stay with the particular syringe. If a control card gets with a wrong syringe and the wrong medicament injected into a patient, it could be fatal.

A previous method of attaching a control card to a syringe involved slipping a card with a punched hole over an end of the syringe protector. However, this method requires specially made control cards and the card is held at an awkward reading angle when the syringe is horizontal and below eye level. This is usually the position when the syringe is within a tray or lying on a table.

An object of my invention is to provide a simple and economical control cardholder integral with a hypodermic syringe.

Another object of my invention is to provide as an integral part of a hypodermic syringe a control cardholder that will receive and hold standard shape control cards of various thicknesses.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a control cardholder positioned on a hypodermic syringe so as to remind the nurse or physician to check that the right medicament is going into the right patient before he pushes the syringe plunger.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a hypodermic syringe with an integral control cardholder that holds a control card in an easily readable position.

Perhaps my invention can be better understood by referring to the drawings, in which:

FIGURE l is a side elevational View of a syringe with a control card in an integral control cardholder;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the syringe with a control card in an integral control cardholder;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the syringe plunger with integral control cardholder; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the syringe plunger with a modified version of the control cardholder.

ICC

With reference to the drawings, the hypodermic syringe has a barrel 1 with a needle 2 at one end and a plunger 3 axially slideable within barrel 1. Plunger 3 has an enlarged sealing tip at one end slideably engaging the barrel 1 and a stern 4 which extends outwardly from an open end of barrel 1 to an integral thumb pad 5 at an opposite end of the plunger. Stern 4 has at least one laterally extending rib 6 with a notch S therein for grippingly and wedgingly holding a thin, at control card 7. On control card 7 are indicia 12 indicating the particular medicament Within the syringe and the particular patient to receive the medicament.

The enlarged view of the plunger in FIGURE 3 shows opposed wall surfaces 11 on the plunger which converge inwardly from a mouth 9 to a crotch or apex 10 of notch 8 for wedgingly holding control card 7.

The notch has an axis through its crotch or apex 10 and mouth 9 preferably forming an angle less than 90, such as 15 to 80, with the longitudinal axis of plunger 3. With the control card in such a notch having its mouth 9 thus longitudinally displaced from the crotch or apex 10 toward syringe barrel 1, the face of control card 7 bearing indicia 12 is tilted upwardly toward the viewers eyes. This makes the indicia 12 on control card 7 easy to read when the syringe is horizontal as within a tray or on a table.

If desired, the wall surfaces 11 defining notch 8 can be stepped to conveniently hold control cards of varying thicknesses as shown in the modified version of notch S in FIGURE 4.

In use the syringe is filled with medicament, the control card 7 filled out with the patients name and his medicament and then the control card is wedged into notch 8. The filled syringe is then delivered, usually on a tray, to the nurse or physician giving the patient his injection. As the nurse or physician picks up the syringe, the control card in notch 8 is an immediate remainder that he must remove the control card and check that he has the proper patient and medicament before pushing the plunger to give him his injection.

In the foregoing specification I have used specific examples to illustrate my invention. It is understood, however, that certain modifications to these specific examples can be made lby those persons skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. In a hypodermic syringe, an axially slideable plunger having wall surfaces defining a notch which has sufficient width and depth to wedgingly hold an -indicator card for matching medicament within the syringe with a particular patient, said Wall surfaces converging inwardly in a plurality of steps from a mouth to a crotch of said notch.

2. In a hypodermic syringe, an axially slideable plunger including at least one laterally extending rib with opposed converging wall surfaces defining a notch of sufficient width and depth to wedgingly hold an indicator card for matching a medicament within the syringe with a particular patient, and an indicator card wedgingly held within said notch.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein the notch is slanted at an angle less than relative to the plungers longitudinal axis and the plunger has a generally triangularly-shaped overhanging portion adjacent one cou verging wall surface.

4. A hypodermic syringe comprising a tubular barrel partially closed at one end and open at an opposite end; a plunger telescoped into said barrel and longitudinally slideable therein, one end of said plunger having an enlarged assi/694 3 4 tip sealingly engaging the barrel wall and the other end References Cited projecting froni the open end ofthe barrel; a generally V- UNITED STATES PATENTS shaped notch 1n the portion of said plunger extendlng from said barrel, which notch has sucient width and depth for 27201969 10/1955 Ken'dau 20643 rictionally holding a thin at card, said notch having a 5 218%347 3/1958 SChIaVO 20G-72 mouth at the edge of the plunger and an apex spaced trans- 3,072,120 1/1963 Sharp et al 12S-215 versely inwardly from said mouth, said mouth also being FOREIGN PATENTS longitudlnally d1splaced from the apex of the notch toward the syringe barrel; and an indicia-bearing card the bottom 958,636 5 19 64 Great Bmam portion of which is wedged into said notch holding said l card in a position inclined from about 15 to 80 to the l0 RICHARD A GAUDET Prlma'y Exammer' plunger to facilitate reading of said indicia. D. L. BAKER, K. HOWELL, Assistant Examiners. 

